NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said the rise of India was deeply linked with the rise of Indian technology and the country cannot remain agnostic to the developments in the sector that has acquired strong political connotation.
“The broader context of globalisation is about economy, technology and mobility. The real debate today is between collaborative globalisation and one dominated by a few,’’ said Jaishankar while speaking
at the Global Technology Summit 2022 organised by the Carnegie India.
He also stressed that the Westphalian model of international relations was over and that it was important today to assess where the data was going. “In the last two years, we have woken up to the fact that where does our data reside, who processes (it), who harvests our data, what do they do with it? I think that’s a very, very key question. I think the quality of partners and sociology of partners is a very important point,” he said.
Jaishankar also said that when it came to technology, “trust and transparency” had become key issues. “On the digital side, I think, we are going to hear more and more (about) the concept of trusted geographies. So, the moment you start talking about trusted geographies, the geopolitical connotation of that is very clear,” he added.
In today’s world, technology was a strategic issue, says the EAM, adding that big players are going to consciously try to become technologically more capable. That is going to be key for global rebalancing.
Regarding banning certain apps (without naming China), Jaishankar said was due to “national security” interests of the country.
“Our actions regarding apps in 2020 was actually driven by the concern of where our data was going. This is no longer a matter of business and economics, it is a matter of national security. So, I would say because everything is being weaponised in this world, I have to change my approach,” he added. Jaishankar also said this was the reason why more focus would be put on trusted partners and trusted geographies.